Happy start of Songkran! Songkran is the New Year celebration in Thailand that happens in April and celebrates the changing of the seasons. The country has festivities in every city to celebrate, and it includes all out water fights. Water is a sign of good fortune for the new year, like you are washing away the ju-ju of last year and starting the new year with a clean slate. I was lucky enough to join in on the fun this year, and here are a few things that I learned along the way. If you plan on visiting Thailand during this time, there are rituals to be aware of before the holiday. Small businesses close to be with families, and roads get busy with travelers. In the spirit of a new start to the new year, people clean their homes and businesses, and visit temples. If you are traveling […]

So flattered that I photo I took was shared with some travel journalists at MatadorU and I just wanted to share. “This photo was taken on the steps up to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, in Chiang Mai. As I walked up the stairs to explore the mountaintop temple, I saw the Hill Tribe people scattered among the tourists, in traditional costumes. Groups of girls were playing on the steps as little girls do, and one caught my eye. Something about her reminded me of my own daughter; she had a similar hairstyle with a little button nose and almond-shaped eyes. As I got closer to her, I could see there was a confidence about her that also was similar to my daughter. I tried to explain with my unclear hand gestures how she was like my daughter, and she just laughed at me. I continued to ask her if […]

Sorry for the delay on this last part of my Pad Thai for Two adventures. I’ve been having lots of computer issues, which hopefully are resolved, but have also been having a difficult time thinking about how to write this last post about my trip to Thailand. I didn’t have the best time here and I think I’m still actively trying to forget moments that bummed me out there. Writing a blog post about it had me reflecting back and trying to make sense of that time; what made it negative and what positives I can take from it all. Just a heads up: I do NOT want to really dive into those negatives here, at least not in this post. The last five days of the trip was purposely planned to have more of a relaxing vibe. My friend Rachelle and I wanted to have some time to reflect […]

In the my last post of Chiang Mai, I briefly mentioned how I was loving the style of our hotel, the Shewe Wana. I started noticing more examples of this colonial Chinese design all over the city and was completely captured by the details and history of it all. To understand it, I needed to understand the history and the location. Chiang Mai is one of the oldest cities of Thailand, and was actually part of the Lanna Kingdom back in the late 1200s. The Lanna Kingdom had influences from all over because of the historic Silk Road trade route. A blend of Indian and Chinese cultures really infused the Kingdom that was already rich in its own natural wealth. Northern Thailand has an abundance of nature to enjoy with a picturesque atmosphere of rivers, forests, mountains, animals, and more. I started noticing all the use of old and reclaimed woods, […]

Sometimes, I start getting in my own head about starting this blogging thing. I’m super new at this gig and trying to figure out what I’m doing (not just with writing the blog but the general direction of it all). I check out other Instagram accounts and start getting critical of my own, I read other people’s work and I feel like I’m not a writer at all. It was all getting to me a little. Luckily, I have some really positive people in my life to check me out of that. You all know who you are, I really appreciate it. Then, out of the blue one day… a travel website from Thailand likes what you’ve written about Bangkok, directs their readers to you, and you see double the traffic on your site!! Holy moly. Check out the website that totally made my day: http://whatsonsukhumvit.com/from-paying-your-girlfriend-a-salary-to-becoming-a-teacher-in-thailand/ From Paying Your […]

After a long night out in Bangkok, we boarded a flight to check out the northern city of Chiang Mai. My friend, Rachelle, and I were out in Bangkok celebrating her birthday and had taken a two week trip to explore Thailand, and we were officially of to our next destination. Bangkok was so much fun, we were excited to see what this next location had in store for us. I did some research prior to leaving California, and this was the city I was most excited for. We were coming there just in time for Songkran, the Thai new year celebration. The holiday is a celebration of the change in seasons and the city basically ends up in an all out water fight for three days (which was actually longer than 3 days, as we found out). We also didn’t realize until Bangkok, that a lot of people actually […]

Celebrating a birthday in a different country is already an incredible thing, but everything about this birthday celebration made me want to adopt her birthday as my own. My own 30th was a couple years back, my (now) husband put together a great time on a party bus around the bay, and I loved it. Most of us want to celebrate certain birthday milestones in a big way. 30 is a good time to do it big. After another riverside outdoor breakfast of fresh fruits, soup, rice and curry, noodles, and more, we met up with Mr. K (our cab-driving friend from yesterday) to spend the birthday on a never-ending adventure. Mr. K ready, with a noticeably fresh and clean cab to take us all over. Without further ado, we jumped into the new floor mats and took off for an hour trip outside of Bangkok. Photo of the warning stickers […]

Getting onto the flight in San Francisco, my friend Rachelle and I were giddy with excitement. It was late and we were ready for a much needed 14 hour nap on the way to our transfer in Hong Kong. We had planned a 2 week adventure all around Thailand for a couple reasons; we wanted to celebrate Rachelle’s birthday in a big way and doing something new, we wanted to experience the Thai celebration of Songkran (which is like a new year’s celebration for the change of seasons), and finally we both in need of a break in our lives to really enjoy some time to ourselves. Never forget that last part, self care is so important. We had plans to do some things with each other, planned some must-do activities, and decided that we are free to split up at any point to adventure on our own. Realistically, we […]

After coming back from a whirlwind family trip to the Philippines and Korea a couple months ago in December of 2015, I felt the time was just not long enough. We were pretty jam-packed with activities with friends and family that it was a little exhausting and I could have used a vacation from my vacation. I am so lucky to have a like-minded friend and neighbor, Rachelle, who was on board for finding a flight and sharing in some new experiences. It started off as just an idea of a vacation, then with more talking we decided just to move on it. Thailand was always a place on my list to go, we found a great deal, it falls on their new year water-fight celebration of Songkran, and it happens to be a big birthday celebration for her. Sometimes, all signs point to YES! Rachelle and I met here in […]

Who?

Thank you for joining me on Ever Winding Road.
I am a mother and wife with a love of design, the outdoors, traveling, and eating. I'm also a first time blogger and exploring a new creative outlet here on this blog, so it is a work in progress. My husband and I have made our way out west to Oakland, California after leaving Chicago, Illinois 8 years ago, but know the adventures never end...